Our LinkedIn world has gotten a bit smaller today. That's because members can now use mentions to draw other people into conversations.

Mention First Degree Connections, Other Members

To mention someone already connected within a status update, for example, start typing the person's name, and a list of potential people pop up below the text field. Facebook users will recognize this feature right away. It's the same thing really, just choose the highlighted person and their name gets included in the status update.

That person will then get a notification they were mentioned. If the "Share with" section is switched to LinkedIn + Twitter under the status update box, mentions will also go out as tweets that include the mentioned party's @ handle. The notifications allow for the possibility of real time conversations, with the ability to continue the messaging with direct response.

Mentions also work with other members who have commented on items on the homepage, even if they aren't contacts. This is a handy way to connect with new people because they are likely a shared contact with someone already in a person's circle. The feature also allows direct interactions with companies who have LinkedIn pages.

Start conversations by putting a connection's name into the text field, and then highlight the person so they get notified right away.

LinkedIn Stalking Kicks Off in 3...2...

It's always fun to taunt, poke and otherwise troll Facebook friends with the appropriate mention, and now the same can be done on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is making it even easier to e-stalk other members with its recently announced search enhancement in March.

Instead of searching for individual people or companies, when a search is entered, a search box opens with results to choose from that seem most relevant. Additionally, LinkedIn has also recently kicked off a roll out of its SlideShare advertisement integration. The advertisements appear as sponsored presentations, and they look more like any other shared content instead of an out of place looking ad.

We fully support enablement of creeping on LinkedIn profiles, and we look forward to more such updates in the future. Tell us in the comments if any of LinkedIn's flurry of recent updates has made it more or less useful for you, or if your Twitter addiction continues to go unabated.